


Work It Out

by newyorkminute



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Also no angst, Camping, Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, M/M, Whizzer & Trina's friendship potential makes me wanna cry, bill finn may hate this dog but I sure don't, just for fun, this basically all just fluff, this is probably so boring I am so sorry, when andrew said that whizzer wanted trina to like him...yes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27017053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newyorkminute/pseuds/newyorkminute
Summary: With a heatwave forecast to hit New York in the summer of 1981, Trina Weisenbachfeld seizes the opportunity to bring together her patchwork family. What better way to do that than force them to go camping in the wilderness of northern New York?Alternatively: The Tight Knit Family goes camping.
Relationships: Cordelia & Trina (Falsettos), Dr. Charlotte & Trina, Dr. Charlotte/Cordelia (Falsettos), Everyone & Everyone, Jason (Falsettos) & Everyone, Marvin & Mendel Weisenbachfeld, Trina/Mendel Weisenbachfeld, Whizzer Brown & Trina, Whizzer Brown/Marvin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	1. Friday.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! This whole fic was started because of one idea I had that doesn't even come into play until the second chapter. Also I did my best to make it In Character so hopefully that comes through for y'all too? Just a lil disclaimer: I am not from New York so don't @ me about any of that, this is fiction anyway so who really cares; more seriously, I'm not Jewish so if I write anything that isn't right or offends you please let me know.
> 
> Please do not expect a lot of dialogue, it is apparently not my specialty.......but writing ABOUT things and conversations that have happened appears to be so......yeah.
> 
> Anyway, happy reading :)

It was Trina who had suggested that the seven of them make the most of the beautiful weather by spending the weekend camping. A “re-bonding” trip she had called it. As time ran on Trina had noticed that her little family was bigger than she realized; it now included Marvin's new lesbian friends, for instance. She had a lot of respect for them, although had never really thought much about getting to know them better since she didn't see them all that much. Getting to know Jason's “Godparents” better had been only one reason for this plan’s formation, however, and albeit irritated by Whizzer’s re-entry into her life, Trina is finding it increasingly difficult to justify her continued contempt towards the guy.

Marvin had been back with Whizzer for over 3 months now. Trina only gave in to the fact that something might be stirring when Whizzer was at Marvin’s apartment for the third Sunday in a row a few weeks after that fateful baseball game; Whizzer courteously exchanging pleasantries with Trina before ducking back to finish his chess game with Jason as the Bar Mitzvah “discussions” began. It was the following Friday that Marvin had confirmed her fears over a family dinner he had arranged which, of course, Whizzer had also been ( ~~infuriatingly~~ ) invited to. The five of them sat at the table as Marvin awkwardly rambled through the announcement, looking anywhere but Trina and constantly rearranging his cutlery as Whizzer watched with an amused glint in his eyes (but his quick little glances at her as he picked at a chip in the table gave him away though).

Over the next few weeks, Whizzer had deftly settled himself back into Trina’s life. He met their dog, a gorgeous 2-year-old beagle-mix named Rosie, and the two became fast friends with Whizzer being one of only three people to pay the pup any attention (the others being Cordelia and Charlotte, of course). It took Jason a minute to adapt to this new friendship as Whizzer spends nearly the whole visit playing tug-of-war with the animal, but after dinner Whizzer begs Trina to let him walk Rosie to the grassy park a few streets over and she agrees. Whizzer thanks her, grabs a ball from the toy basket and shouts a cheery “ _Let’s go, Jason!_ ”, the young boy eagerly jumping up from the sofa and running to get his shoes. It was after this night that Trina began to revise her opinion of the younger man: his effort to reacquaint himself with Mendel; the now genuine interest in what everyone was saying; his fantastic relationship with Jason and, most importantly, his suggestion to let Rosie come with Jason at the weekends so that the married couple can truly have the weekend to themselves (this may or may not have caused a teeny, tiny, micro-argument between Marvin and Whizzer when they got back to the former's apartment). And sure, she still found his voice a bit irritating... and she could live without the swearing... and there’s still the sarcastic comments but this time the comments are funny and well-intentioned, less cold and biting. He was trying, so Trina thought she should too.

Then the plan was set! 2 tents. 2 cars. A 3-hour drive. 6 adults. One angsty pre-teen and a hyperactive dog. Funnily enough the hardest people to convince were Cordelia and Marvin, the latter shocked when Whizzer hadn’t backed him up on his reluctance (“ _I can be pretty and still like the Great Outdoors, Marv._ ”). They set off early at 9:00 on Friday morning, hoping to make the most of the gorgeous weekend ahead of them. The Weisenbachfeld’s journey up was pretty uneventful. Jason quietly making his way through a tube of Pringles while reading in the back-seat, Mendel and Trina idly chatting about their expectations for the trip, the radio playing the week’s newest hits. Rosie was fairly well-behaved, too engrossed in watching the world pass by the window with the occasional sharp movement knocking her off-balance. As the trip wore on, Mendel and Trina’s chatter faded into a comfortable silence. Jason had fallen back asleep, Mendel humming along to the radio and Trina sipping at the tea in her flask...despite the outside temperature nearing 80° already.

The other car, driven by Charlotte, was slightly less peaceful but no less uneventful. Charlotte refused to let Marvin drive her anywhere after the last time she got in a car with him; he had thrown a handful of trail mix out of the car window at the guy in front who had cut him off on the highway (he’d mainly done it to make Whizzer laugh, so the lecture on road safety he received afterwards was worth it in his eyes). So, Marvin was now relegated to the back-seat with Whizzer, not such a bad deal he figured. The first hour was quiet as the foursome woke up a bit more. That lasted until Cordelia put on her ABBA’s Greatest Hits cassette and all semblance of peace was away out the window in a similar fashion to the trail mix. Charlotte, Whizzer and Cordelia sang along to the songs a little bit too passionately for Marvin’s taste at 10 in the morning (“Honey, honey” and “Waterloo” being the clear favourites). Charlotte sang a lot more reservedly, though, too busy concentrating on the early morning traffic. Marvin spends the journey laughing as obnoxiously as he can any time Whizzer or Cordelia mess the lyrics up and nearly worrying himself sick over the fact that, “ _There are bears in New York, you know._ _Literally_ _2_ _hours_ _away from where we're going._ ” “ _They’re in a completely different park, Marvin._ _And_ _2 hours away_ _,_ _for fuck sake_.” “ _They travel, Charlotte. They._ _T_ _ravel._ ”

The plan to meet up at a diner near the camp-site for lunch goes smoothly, with both cars arriving within minutes of each other. Once everyone is fed and watered (Rosie is especially relieved to be out of the restrictive car) they finally reach the camp-site sometime after 2pm. The process of putting the tents up went better than expected, the Weisenbachfeld’s erected in 20 minutes with the Dream Team not far behind. The latter had a false start as Whizzer had to convince Marvin that they have to put the support poles in first before securing it down, but the debate only lasted a few minutes thanks to Marvin's new “I don't need to be right all the time” attitude. In fact, Marvin’s quick acquiescence still sometimes renders Whizzer speechless for a moment as he backs down from the energy it used to require to get through one of these conversations.

“OK!”, Charlotte exclaims, stepping out from the tent and resting her arm on Marvin's shoulder as the rest of the group gathers next to her, “What are we doing here? What's on the agenda, kids?”

Upon hearing only small hums and other such thinking noises from the 6 people in front of her, Charlotte decides to get the ball rolling:

“I want to go bird watching. At least once in the morning and once at night, that's all I ask and anyone is welcome to come with!”

“I'll come with you at night, Char! I love night hikes.” Whizzer enthuses, choosing to ignore Marvin's grumbling about the coyotes that _definitely_ occupy this particular park, and goes on to say:

“All _I_ ask is that we have a day at the lake. There's this really quiet spot, we can practically have the whole beach to ourselves!”

This was a popular suggestion. Oh, the things you can do at the lake: swimming, boating, sunbathing. Jason had even managed to convince Trina to _consider_ renting canoes. It was decided that Saturday would be their lake day as no one particularly likes the thought of enduring the drive back home sweaty and covered in dirt. While everyone else expresses their distaste for the dirt that comes with camping, Marvin walks over to Mendel.

“Hey, I was thinking we could rent out some fishing poles and take Jason out onto the lake. Maybe teach him how to fish? I don't know... what you even know about fishing, if you even like it or know how or -”

“I think that's a great idea, Marvin,” Mendel reassures him, interrupting before he ties himself in knots trying to reach the end of his sentence, “I can't say that he'll enjoy it but hey, if that's not what camping is about then I don't know what is.” He finishes with a smile, which is quickly returned. The two turn back to the rest of the group to find Trina midway through a rant about the mud that catches on the back of your pants while walking. Why does it do that? How do you prevent it? How does it get so far up your calf? Trina doesn't know but she sure finds it annoying.

“Where's my best friend?” Cordelia asks suddenly, looking around for Rosie before calling her name. The group begins to disperse, shouting the mutt's name as Trina & Mendel let out a simultaneous groan. Soon enough Rosie comes bounding out from the surrounding trees, proudly brandishing a large stick. Whizzer wrestles the slobbery piece of wood from her and begins to toss the stick between himself and Cordelia, both of them laughing at Rosie's attempts to intercept their throws.

Trina hums in thought. “Maybe we should get some long rope to tie to her collar. That way she can go wherever she wants and we can still keep track of her.”

“I'll have a look and see if I can find any when we head to the grocery store. Speaking of, shall we do that now, guys?” Marvin asks. Mendel nods and heads into his tent to get his backpack. Whizzer pouts, begrudgingly leaving his game with Rosie and the lesbians.

“Is the grocery store air conditioned?”

“I don't know, Jason. Probably.” Trina replies with a sigh. She can already sense the impending bitching about the overbearing heat from the kid. Though she can hardly blame him, it's not even the hottest day of the weekend and it's already 95°.

Mendel puts a hand on Jason's shoulder as they walk to the car. “You can pick out any snacks you want, JC. Hey, we can get marshmallows and make some of those s'more things!”

“And I want cookies. Get cookies!” Cordelia adds.

“Oh, for goodness sake. Please, please, please buy things that have some nutritional value,” Trina shouts after them, “Do not come back here with just garbage!”.

“What use is going camping if you don't get to eat your weight in junk food around the camp fire? Or while having a heavy heart-to-heart with someone in your tent at 3 am?”

At the sound of Charlotte's voice, Trina turns back to face the camp site. “I am very surprised to learn that you are encouraging this kind of unhealthy habit, Dr Charlotte,” she smiles.

“Listen, I'm on vacation. Dr Charlotte does not exist right now.” Charlotte laughs as she pretends to throw Rosie's stick and hide it behind her back.

In the 45 minutes it took the boys to get what they needed from the store, Trina got to know a little bit more about Charlotte and Cordelia. She had only met them a handful of times before, mostly in passing when picking up Jason, at one of his baseball games or on the odd occasion when Marvin would have them all over for dinner. She knew bits and pieces about them. Like how Charlotte was a doctor and had a large family, most of whom are also doctors in some way or another. Cordelia, originally from Colorado, was also from a large family of doctors and, in fact, had met Charlotte while studying the same course before dropping out. Her heart just wasn't in it. She always loved cooking and knew that's what she should be doing, but that didn't stop the slight rift it caused between her and her parents. They both love baseball, horror movies, making fun of Marvin, and are waiting for the perfect time to take a romantic trip to Greece. Now Trina can add the names of all their siblings, Charlotte's love for birds and Cordelia's hatred for insects to that list.

***

The boys arrived back at the camp with a collection of camping equipment that the group foolishly didn't realise they would need. Basic things like a cooler, camp chairs, sleeping mats, tiny pots and toilet paper were overlooked in the 2 day long preparation for the trip (though they had enough bug spray to last a month). They had also returned with a slew of junk food and Trina no longer felt bad about the 3 hour hike the girls had sprung on them upon their return.

“Three hours?!” Jason groaned, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they neared the beginning of the trail. “I've already been awake for so long.”

Trina turned to give him an exasperated look but before she could reply, Whizzer walked over and linked his arm through Jason's, fiddling with his camera.

“Jason, you can hang back with me and help me get some cool shots.”

Jason seemed to perk up at this, smiling slightly as Whizzer talked him through his favourite features on the camera. He may not be too happy about the long hike but he's always willing to help out one of his closest friends, especially if it's something they obviously care about. And even more so if they've brought their big fancy camera that's normally reserved for work. Marvin quickened his pace to walk ahead of them, quickly snapping a picture of the pair with their Polaroid camera before falling back in step with Whizzer as the photo developed.

“Cordelia. Can you please stop letting her run in front of me, I'll end up stepping on her!” Charlotte warns, dodging the rope that had now intercepted her path.

“She won't stop running everywhere and this rope is too long!” Cordelia apologises while trying to regain control. Rosie couldn't seem to pick which side of the trail was the most exciting. Bouncing from left to right, tail wagging furiously and nose glued to the ground. When Marvin had returned to the camp brandishing a 20ft long rope to replace Rosie's leash with, it had seemed perfect. She could run free and not get lost. Now, however, with her wild criss-crossing as she explored her first venture into the wilderness, it had become quite the danger. Eventually, Cordelia got the idea to loosely wrap the rope around her arm, restricting Rosie's range anyway. The rope had seemed like a good idea at the time.

90 minutes later and the group had reached the viewpoint. The sun had kept the planet at a solid 95° the entire hike, the shade cast by trees not doing much to keep them cool. Trina had luckily been spared Jason's moaning about the heat as Whizzer kept him distracted by teaching him how to utilise natural light while shooting outside. Even Rosie's frantic zooming around had died down about a third of the way in. Everyone was exhausted and still had the 90 minute hike back to the camp. They all collapsed on the grass, Rosie included, trying to get their breath back and practically drowning themselves with water. They lay there for another 5 minutes before Cordelia broke the silence:

“That was awful. I literally thought I was going to pass out.” Charlotte pressed the back of her fingers to Cordelia's bright red cheek and inhaled sharply at the warmth. Charlotte decided that she just _had_ to put a stop to this, pouring a little bit of water into her hands cupping her wife's cheeks again, giggling.

“This fucking view better be worth it.” Whizzer quipped lightly from his spot face down in the grass, giving a quick, half-assed apology for swearing in front of Jason. Even on the best of days the kid didn't care, usually revelling at the use of the _forbidden words_ , but for now all Jason could supply was a weak thumbs up. Whizzer turned his head to look up at Marvin and snickered.

“Bad day to wear a grey tee, hon. I did warn you.”

Marvin opened his eyes and looked down at the offending stains, “I stand by it.” Whizzer smiled brightly at his deadpan response causing Marvin's act to break and begin chuckling as well.

Trina stood up from where she had poured water into a tub for Rosie, watching the dog immediately start lapping it up desperately. She closed the cap and went to put the bottle back into Mendel's back pack, “What time is it, love?”.

“About 4:55. I just checked a few seconds ago.” Mendel replied, still fanning himself with his cap. Trina nodded and turned to the group,

“Alright everyone. Let's get a picture and then we can head back down to the camp. We can make it back by dinner.”

“But good news, guys, the way back is just like what my father told me when I turned 30…. all down hill from here.” Mendel said with a grin that remained despite the other's silence. They weren't going to dignify that with a response. Trina put her arms around his middle and squeezed him lovingly as they walked to the spot where Whizzer was taking the group picture. The view really was gorgeous and Whizzer had to admit, it was definitely worth it. The sky was completely clear, pure blue and contrasted beautifully with the lush, green trees that blanketed the surrounding hills. The sun continued to shine on as the group huddled together, all smiling brightly at the camera. Whizzer made sure to frame the nearby lake in the background, he did not want to forget a single detail about this day.

Once the photo had developed, Trina switched places with Whizzer so that he could have his own photo to take home. Shortly after, the group began their descent.

***

By the time they'd reached the camp site the sun was making it's exeunt, casting the sky in a spectacular blur of blues, oranges and yellows. Even hours after the sun had set, it's impact could still be felt well into the darkness of the night with the temperature only dropping a couple degrees by 9 pm. Mendel had set up a boom-box to play from his tent, the fire was lit, the canned spaghetti consumed and the alcohol busted from it's confines in Charlotte and Whizzer's suitcases. Jason and Marvin are locked in an intense game of chess, not a single word being spoken. Marvin found that being slightly tipsy may not be so much of problem while playing against Whizzer, but is actually a massive hindrance when Jason is your opponent. The game was drawing to a close and Marvin realized that he could in no way win this game so he made the most useless move he could think of, then faking shock as Jason took his king.

“Checkmate!”

“Good job, kid,” Marvin smiled, “You're nearly as good as me. I want a rematch when I haven't been drinking.”

“Good one, dad, blame it on the alcohol,” Jason giggled. “Just admit that you're getting too old to keep up with my super young, super quick brain.”

Marvin got up and ruffled his son's hair, “Never. Does your super young, super quick brain want to make some shmoores now?”

“It's s'mores, dad. And yes!” He yelled, jumping up from his seat and practically diving into his tent. He emerged with an armful of marshmallows, graham crackers and cheap chocolate. After dumping the items unceremoniously in the center by the camp fire, Jason called everyone out of their respective conversations and led them through the process of how to make the perfect s'more. Only three of the sweet treats caught on fire: two of them were Mendel's and the other was Cordelia's. She was too busy laughing at Mendel's second fire. And surprisingly only one ended up on the ground. Rosie had gotten bored with the lack of attention she was getting and it was Whizzer who gave in, groaning as he picked up the gross toy and threw it as far away as he could. On a particularly hard tug from Rosie while trying the prize the stuffed animal from her, the s'more slipped from his grasp and landed on the ground. Marvin could barely contain his giggles which were quickly echoed by the rest of the tight knit family as Whizzer stared dejectedly at the tragedy in the dirt.

“This is so sad.” Was all he had to say before directing Rosie's attention to the mess and letting her clean it up. Other than this unfortunate event, the rest of the night was practically perfect. The only obstacle of their perfect night being the amount of insects they were having to defend themselves from. The incessant buzzing by the ears and flying into the face was really getting on Cordelia's nerves, grumbling every time it happened. Around 10 pm was when they had decided to call it a night as the adults were edging just beyond slightly tipsy. Having to spend the hottest day of the weekend with a hangover was not something any of them were interested in.

“Trina, how are you so clean!” Charlotte marvelled, her own shorts and t-shirt now covered in chocolate. Trina laughed and put down the bag she had been collecting the trash in to display the large stain that now resided on her white top, “Unfortunately, that is not the case, my love. It'll be such a pain to get out.”

As the others had left to get ready for bed, Marvin, Whizzer and Cordelia were the only three left at the fireside. What came next was a truly… astounding performance of Islands in the Stream by Whizzer and Cordelia as it came over the boom box. It began with Cordelia and soon became apparent that Charlotte was not available to be her Dolly, so it only seemed right that Whizzer fill that role for her. Marvin decided that he'd rather save his dignity and stay out of it than give in and be the background music, putting out the fire instead. As the song ended, Mendel decided that enough was enough and switched the boom box off.

“Nice job, guys. Very tuneful, my ears haven't bled like that for years.” He quipped. Cordelia gasped and jokingly scolded him for being rude as she got up, heading to join Charlotte in their tent.

Marvin hummed, “I thought the performance left much to be desired,” he said crossing his arms, looking over at Whizzer. Whizzer leaned in close to Marvin's face, staring into his eyes for a few seconds before scrunching his nose and quickly pulling away.

“Can we go a walk?” He asked.

“No.”

“Please?”

“Absolutely not. It's late, dark and we're half drunk. We'll get lost.” Marvin stated.

“We won't go far. Just 15 minutes-”

“No. We'll go one tomorrow. A proper one. And I won't mention coyotes or bears or anything else that might eat us whilst we're out there. Deal?” Marvin held out his hand.

Whizzer huffed, “Fine...”, taking Marvin's hand and shaking it.

“Good,” Marvin keeping hold of Whizzer's hand and pulling him out of the chair, “Now let's sleep, we've been up for so. Long. Even Rosie's passed out, babe.”

It was not easy to fall asleep, turns out that sharing tents means a lot of warm bodies in a confined space. Pair that with the shitty $5 sleeping mats they bought, Mendel AND Marvin's snoring, a dog that won't stop moving in one tent, a 6ft tall man who won't stop moving in the other, it's a wonder any of them drifted off. Thank god for exhaustion. Nonetheless, the weekend was now officially under way and Trina felt incredibly optimistic.


	2. Saturday.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the hottest day of the weekend and the gang rides it out at the lake. Charlotte loses a bet, Trina takes on a new hobby and Rosie conquers a fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhh don't expect much from this y'all my pacing is very bad lol

**Saturday,** **7 am. 8** **6** **°** **F**

An unrelenting beeping from her wristwatch is what pulled Charlotte from her dreamless snooze. She was beginning to regret the early start, the pain in her head from the lack of sleep slowly making itself known the more she woke up. The tent had kept a solid 90 all through the night and just like the other three people in there with her, Charlotte had forgone her pajamas in favor of her underwear. The plan had been to get up and head out for a quick walk to catch a glimpse of the morning birds. It was something Charlotte had originally planned to do with Cordelia alone, but after finding out that Trina had a small interest in ornithology, Charlotte made it her mission to turn that into a full blown passion. Rubbing her eyes and turning on her back, she nudged Cordelia awake.

“Is it 7 already?” The blonde whispered.

Charlotte nodded and sat up, “Do you still want to come?”

"Of course, I love taking these walks with you. And I also really need to get out of this tent. Marvin is snoring directly into my ear and the heat is getting worse with every damn second.”

Charlotte unzipped her case and began to get dressed. Cordelia turned to the two sleeping men and shook them both awake, asking if they were also coming. The response she received from them was exactly what she expected, a resounding “No”, and pulled clothes out of her own bag. As the two women were preparing to leave, Cordelia tying her hair up and Charlotte placing her binoculars around her neck, Whizzer sat up and asked for his bag.

“Is Jason going with you guys?” He continued, his voice groggy.

“He won't want to.” Marvin grumbled.

“Hopefully he will! When I spoke to Trina last night she said that she'd try to get both Mendel and Jason to come along. Said it would be good for them.” Charlotte responded while passing him the bag. Whizzer reached inside and pulled out his big camera, handing it over to Charlotte.

“Tell him he can take this, the light at this time of the morning is fantastic if you really want to play with it. He only gets 8 shots though! I didn't bring a ton of film with me.” Whizzer put his bag to the side and as the girls headed out.

“Why didn't you want to go with them, Mr Wilderness?” Marvin teased, the silly nickname spoken in an equally silly voice. Whizzer huffed a laugh and lay down, nestling his head into Marvin's right shoulder.

“Well you weren't going and I'd rather lie here with you.” The other man replied, laying an arm across Marvin.

“Aw, that's adorable,” he cooed, “but get off of me. It's too hot to lie like this.”

Despite his complaint, Marvin moved his arm around Whizzer's shoulders and pulled him closer as the latter sighed contently, replying with a sleepy 'No'. It didn't take long for the duo to fall back into unconsciousness. Whether they genuinely drifted off to sleep or just passed out from the heat, however, is up for debate.

Mendel wishes he was passed out. Trina had woken him up just before Charlotte and Cordelia came over to their tent to begin the morning hike. He trudged blearily next to Jason as the kid relayed the best features of the camera Whizzer had shown him the day before, nursing a coffee in his flask. His sleep, like Charlotte's, was not great. Trina had spent 5 minutes trying to shake him awake and it took her actually threatening to dump water over him to get him to move. He glared at Rosie as he got dressed while she just stood there staring at him, wagging her tail as if she knew damn well that she was the reason his sleep was so bad. He looked over at her now as she bounded through the trees on either side of the trail they were on and couldn't stop the small smile that appeared on his face as he watched her explore.

Jason had yet to take a single photo, not wanting to waste one of his 8 precious shots on something lame. So, when Mendel spotted a large spider web strung between two trees Rosie ran past, illuminated by the morning light, he placed his hand on his stepson's shoulder.

“Do you see that spider web over there, JC? That would make a pretty awesome shot, right?”

Jason searched the area that Mendel was pointing to, trying to locate the structure in question. When his eyes finally landed on it he let out a sharp gasp and sped straight over to it, Mendel slowing to a stop and waiting for him. Jason looked at the web for a moment, admiring the neat, strategically placed lines, before lifting the camera to his face. He did his best to remember everything Whizzer told him, bending to get the light to hit the web _just_ right. It took a few readjustments but Jason had finally found an angle in which each spindles reflected the sun's radiance and it's proud, tiny creator was visibly perched in the corner. He could hardly wait for Whizzer to see the photo he had taken, thanking Mendel for the idea as they moved to catch up with the others.

Charlotte had passed her binoculars off to Trina, figuring she'd be more enticed into bird watching if she was more actively involved (it was also so much easier to hold her wife's hand if someone else was had the binoculars). They had a pretty decent set up: Trina would spot a bird, describe it and give her guess at the species; Charlotte would tell her if she was right or Cordelia would be there with the ID book if Charlotte wasn't able to identify it straight away. The hike was proving to be fairly in decent in terms of species to be found: bluebirds, a couple of crows, blue jays, orioles, a red breasted nuthatch and so...many…brown thrashers. Brown thrashers are gorgeous but once you've seen 3 then you've practically seen them all. There was even the distant drumming of a woodpecker throughout the duration of their journey.

Trina brought the binoculars down from her eyes and thought for a moment. “The bird at the top of that tree there is definitely either a purple finch or a house finch… I can never tell the difference.”

“Are there any white markings on the lower body?” Charlotte inquired, looking over at the tree in question trying to find the bird herself. Trina lifted the binoculars back to her eyes.

“Oh yes! There is!”

“Then it's a house finch,” Charlotte confirmed, “it took me forever to remember that.”

“I'll try to keep that in mind for next time!”, she laughed before letting out a yawn. “Excuse me for yawning. I'm not bored, I promise, I just barely got any sleep last night. Between Rosie walking all over us and Jason kicking me, I'm sure I only got about 3 hours. Max!”

“Oh no, don't worry about it! We're the exact same. It was horrible.” Charlotte reassured before Cordelia chimed in.

“If Marvin wasn't waking me up with his snoring, he'd wake me up with every time he told Whizzer off for moving… to be fair though I'm 75% certain there was one point where Whizzer had his leg on top of Marvin AND me so I guess he had a good reason.”

The trio chuckled as Trina spoke up again. “I'm practically immune to snoring at this point but I'm pretty sure Mendel has traumatized Jason now.”

“Men just aren't as classy as us. All they do is eat, snore and think about sex,” Cordelia jokes, rolling her eyes, “They're completely useless.”

The group return to the camp some time shortly after 8:40. Cordelia set about brewing coffee for the whole group (Trina said that she'd make her own tea) while Charlotte quietly reached into her tent for her journal to record the birds she saw. Mendel immediately collapsed into one of the other chairs and fell back asleep barely having time to put down his empty flask. Trina chuckled softly before heading into the tent and retrieving Mendel's pillow, repositioning his head and propping him up. She'd hate for him to have a crick in his neck the entire rest of the day. After pressing a light kiss to her husband's dark curls and looking back up, she saw Jason making a beeline straight for the other tent.

“Jason, what are you doing?”

“I'm giving Whizzer his camera back! I can't wait to tell him about the shots I got!”

“Wait until he wakes up, sweetheart. You wouldn't like it if someone woke you-” Trina stopped herself, catching the hypocrisy in that statement and quickly rethought her approach ignoring the pointed look her son threw at her.

“He'll be more… receptive to what you have to tell him if you just hold back for a little bit longer. Ok, hon?”

Jason huffs and considers it for moment. Then, thankfully, agrees and heads over to his own tent to read his comic. The water in the pot that Cordelia had placed on their portable stove finally begins to boil. She pours it into two cups before passing the water off to Trina and sweetening the coffees to her own and Charlotte's taste. As Trina placed the tea bag in her mug to steep, Whizzer emerged from his tent, already dressed but his hair an absolute mess. Cordelia let out a whistle as he stood up.

“Those are some short shorts, babe!”

“I only show what the people wanna see.” He replied with a wink, “They're my swim shorts, dummy.”

“Morning, Whizzer! You drink tea don't you? There's plenty of water if you'd like cup.” Trina asked with a smile. He replied with a nod and moved to prepare his mug only to be stopped by Trina.

“I'll get that for you! I'm making one anyway. Besides, I think Jason wants to see you. What do you take in your tea?”

“Oh yeah! About the photos! I was just up when you guys got back. I take three sugars and no cream. Thank you, Trina.” He responded, walking over to Jason's tent and tapping the entrance to let Jason know he was there. Trina finished making the teas and handed Whizzer his mug, finally taking a seat next to an already snoring Mendel and idly listening to the quiet chatter of the women across the camp fire, their voices mixing with the sounds of the awakening wilderness. Once Rosie had decided that her food bowl was adequately licked clean, she trots over to Whizzer and hops on top of him trying to lick his face. The unexpected force of it nearly causes Whizzer to spill the tea down his white t-shirt and somehow triggers a short fit of chesty coughs.

The morning continued, lazily, as the camp site relaxed into the day, Marvin eventually making his debut about an hour after everyone returned. The sun rose steadily, blazing in the clear sky, and by mid-morning the temperature was on it's way to becoming even more unbearable. The group decided that it was time to get a move on and make their way over to the lake for the rest of the day, lest they melt away into the dirt.

**Saturday, 12:30 pm. 9** **6** **°** **F**

The area of the lake Whizzer had led them to was not as secluded as he had remembered it being. In fairness, the last time he had come here it was a surprisingly warm week day in March of 1975 and he had skipped work to do so. Still, Jason had spotted a pleasant area in the grass that bordered the sand and away from some of the other families already there. They set out their towels; Mendel, Marvin and Trina set up their chairs; and Rosie's range on the long rope was once again restricted after nearly flattening a small child in her excitement of meeting another dog. Whizzer and Cordelia don't stay seated for very long, though, as they get up and begin tossing a ball back forth, deciding that their best bet with Rosie is tiring her out as much as they can. They take turns pitching the ball for each other as far their arms can throw and racing Rosie to reach it first. The game is lost when, on a particularly impressive curve ball, Whizzer launched the ball into the lake. He was incredibly proud of his throw but was a little disappointed to see Cordelia reach the ball first, Rosie not even crossing the shore line (the throw was intentional, Rosie was beginning to lose her patience and she deserved to have her ball for a bit).

“I can't believe I won! You didn't even try, pup! What's that about?” Cordelia sang while walking up to Rosie and passing her the ball, scratching her ear before the dog ran off into the shade of Marvin's chair with it.

Mendel, who had been watching the game with great interest, smiled apologetically, “Yup… she's, uh, terrified! Of water.”

“What?!” Whizzer and Cordelia both gasped, Mendel nodding affirmatively.

“What kind of dog– you'd think she'd love it? She's, like, super active.” Whizzer asked, and Mendel couldn't work out if the look on his face was one of disbelief or over-exaggerated disgust.

“I know, bathing her is always a nightmare.” He replied with a shrug, “Which is why we pay someone else to do it.”

Whizzer and Cordelia huffed a laugh as they moved to lay down on their towels. The silence that fell over the group was not an uncomfortable one and Trina smiled as she looked over her family, unconventional as it was. The heat seemed to be taking it's toll even on Rosie, who lay panting slightly in the shade, her water bowl already almost empty beside her. Trina looked between Marvin and Jason, who were both reading unlike the rest of the folks around her soaking up the sun. There really was a likeness between them and Trina hoped that Jason wouldn't take that as the insult he once thought it to be. It was difficult for Trina to forgive Marvin for what had transpired but over time (and with a lot of work on Marvin's part) she found herself more understanding of what he had been going through at the time. She doubts their relationship could ever be more than an amicable acquaintanceship now, but it doesn't need to be. As long as Jason knows he has (at least) two parents who love him and a family that supports each other, things can only get better for the kid. The two adults keep their distance from each other but remain civil (Bar Mitzvah planning included...sometimes). Finally, she looked over at her husband and decided to follow his lead, closing her eyes and lying back to enjoy the sun.

This state of peace only continued for another 30 minutes, however, as Whizzer sat up and began lightly drumming his fingers on his knee, keeping his gaze on the lake in front of him. Taking his sunglasses off, he stood up to face the others:

“Anyone want to come swimming with me?”

“Ding, ding! Charlotte you owe me $5. That was longer than 15 minutes, babe.”

“Ok, what?” Whizzer asked, incredibly confused. Cordelia laughed and sat up on her knees as Charlotte groaned, reaching for her back pack.

“We made a bet about 3 weeks ago. You seem to have a chronic need to keep moving or talking or making some sort of noise, otherwise you get bored. So any time a conversation stops, we see how long you last before you can't take the quiet anymore.”

“You've made me $40!” Charlotte affirmed with a large smile, handing her wife the cash.

Whizzer narrowed his eyes but couldn't hold back the smile that appeared on face.

“How can I get in on this? If I'm not the one who breaks the silence can I get $5?”

The two women share a look before nodding, not seeing a problem with this plan. Whizzer clapped his hands together.

“Great! Anyway, is anyone coming swimming with me?”

Charlotte and Cordelia nodded, the latter holding her hands out for Whizzer to pull her to her feet, and the three of them headed to the cool, refreshing expanse of the lake. Following them, Rosie sat at the edge of the water, her gaze not once leaving the group out in the water and Trina could faintly hear her soft whines. Closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair, Trina allowed herself to clear her mind again. For the first time in a long while there weren't a million and one thoughts cramming her brain. Instead, she focused on nothing but the sun warming her face and the light sounds of people chattering and moving around her.

A short, blissful while later, she felt a tap on the back of her hand and looked over at Mendel. Laying his hand over Trina's own, he informed her that he and Marvin were leaving with Jason to rent a boat and go fishing. Trina raised an eyebrow. She didn't know Mendel knew how to fish. She definitely knew that it was not something Jason would enjoy but she supposed that he may as well give it a shot, he'll probably appreciate the time spent with his dads.

“Ok, just be careful and don't capsize the boat. And make sure you're wearing sunscreen!”

Mendel smiled and pressed a light kiss to his wife's cheek, then walked over to stand with Jason as they waited for Marvin, who was asking Whizzer if he wanted to come. Rosie was pacing next to him, eyes still locked on the people in the lake. Whizzer made a face and responded with a quick: “No thanks! It's gross and boring!”, before returning to his conversation with Charlotte and Cordelia. Marvin shot him a thumbs up and moved to leave with the others, nearly tripping over Rosie in the process.

Trina waved at them as they left and sauntered over to stand in the shallows of the lake, cooling herself down. Charlotte called her over to join them but she declined. She only wanted a quick dip anyway. Suddenly, a high-pitched yelp filled the air and Trina spun around to see Rosie gingerly wading in. She quickly nosed at Trina's leg before braving the idea to go further, progressing into a paddle as she reached the stunned and cheering group of people in the deeper water. She swam directly into Whizzer's out stretched arms and clung to him the best she could as the others descended on her, scratching her head and praising her. Whizzer slowly sank into the water to encourage Rosie to swim again, but the dog only began to shiver and attempted to clamber further up onto him. The adults decided that they should probably take her back to shore, effectively ending their swim. Whizzer released the dog onto the grass and she began madly rubbing her face on the ground, irritated by the water in her ears and eyes. Rosie had now entered hyperactivity mode with all the adrenaline racing through her and Whizzer was doing his damn best to entertain her with the rope from where he was sat drying off.

“I thought it was just a myth that all dogs instinctively know how to swim?”

“I think some of them can… maybe this means she'll be less scared now?” Charlotte responded, giving the dog a light push away from the rope in Whizzer's hand.

Trina laughed, “Oh please don't say that! I was so glad that I didn't have to deal with a dog that leapt into fountains and dirty puddles.”

“What's she mixed with?”

“Jack Russell.” Now… Trina knew that both breeds were incredibly energetic. After all, it was her friend's beagle that had the puppies. She was then asked if she would like to adopt one and after seeing their utterly sweet faces, how could she say no?

“We think we're going to adopt a cat,” Whizzer turned to face Charlotte so fast that she worried he might have given himself whiplash, “Corrie's always wanted one and I miss having them.”

Cordelia nods, adding, “We'll wait till after Greece though.”

“Which probably isn't going to happen until next year now. The hospital is getting busier by the day… I was lucky to get this weekend off.” A slight feeling of unease began to creep it's way across Charlotte. Trina was left a little confused at the sudden change in tone and was thankful when Whizzer spoke, successfully steering the conversation back to something a little lighter:

“You guys decided what you'll do in Greece yet?”

Trina listened intently as the two women began to unveil their plans for their big vacation. They've been together for 15 years and decided to mark it with something special, flying to Europe for the first time in their lives. They had most of their itinerary figured out: starting off with gaining a feel for the culture and history in Athens, then sailing across the Aegean sea for a historic tour through Rhodes, before finishing off with a relaxing few days in Santorini. It's not cheap, but they've earned it. Whizzer offered advice on where in Athens is best for restaurants and nightclubs (an ex-fling had whisked him away there in an attempt to impress him) while also waxing lyrical about the picturesque villages and insanely blue seas, lamenting that he didn't have a better camera at the time.

Charlotte laughed, “Whiz, I've been meaning to ask you all day. Why'd you bring your Nikon?”

“I got this book out of the library a couple weeks ago that was all about natural photography. I've been obsessed with it.”

Cordelia raises an eyebrow, “Oh really? But I thought you were so excited to start your new job.”

“I am! Fashion photography is still my, like, dream job. Natural photography is SO much work. You gotta sit there and wait for the light to be right or an animal will move and spoil the shot… I'm happy in the studio, thank you. This'll just be a fun, little hobby.”

“You got a new job?” Trina inquired.

“Yeah! It's with BBW. I don't start until the beginning of August though.”

“BBW is that fashion magazine for… larger women, isn't it?”

Whizzer nodded cheerily, “Sure is! I can't wait. It's exactly the kind of gig I wanted.”

“That's great, Whizzer! I'm happy for you.” Trina replied sincerely. He smiled softly before bringing a hand up to push his fringe away from his eyes, “How are things going with the Bar Mitzvah?”

Trina chuckles humorlessly, “They're not,” rolling her eyes, then looking over at Cordelia who whispers a quiet 'uh oh'. The other two snickering and turning to give Trina their full attention.

“Marvin and I are constantly at odds so Mendel suggested that we ask Jason for his opinion. His response?” For her impression of Jason, Trina slumps her shoulders down and puts on her best moody teenager voice, “It's all: 'I don't care' or 'Do whatever you want' or 'I don't even what a stupid Bar Mitzvah'. It's driving me nuts. We finally managed to get the invitation list from him on Tuesday. After months of asking.”

Upon hearing this, Cordelia brightens. “Please tell me he invited Heather Levin! He talks about her constantly.” Whizzer pouts and adds, “He's so sweet on her.”

“Is that the girl from his chess club?”

“You haven't heard him talk about Heather?” Charlotte asks incredulously. “Every week he comes back with some story about her and gets all fast-talking and gesticulative and blushy,” she gushes, “It's adorable.”

“He does but it's always 'someone said this today' or 'a girl at chess taught me this'… I had a little feeling but didn't wanna push. He hates when we talk to him about that kind of thing.” As much as Trina was disappointed – and maybe a little jealous – that Jason was more comfortable talking about a crush with the three unrelated people in front of her than his own mother, she understood. She and Marvin had hardly set themselves up as confidants for their son to open up to as he grew, too busy dealing with their own personal problems.

A small, petty part of her really hoped that Marvin had been kept in the dark about it too.

**Saturday,** **9:** **45** **pm. 9** **0** **°** **F**

Mendel returned to his seat next to his wife after grabbing another beer from the cooler, hissing as his t-shirt grazed against the painful sunburn on his shoulders. Trina smirked at him (she did warn him after all) but decided against leaning towards him to prevent worsening the pain, resting a hand on his forearm instead. When the others returned from their fishing venture, all three of them were sunburned and hadn't even caught any fish to show for it. The latter problem may be because they had to set up at the end of the pier due to all of the boats being rented out by the time they got there. It also probably didn't help that neither Mendel nor Marvin had as good a grasp on the skill as they thought they had (but it didn't stop them from bickering about who knew how to do it the “right” way).

After ending their lake day and returning to the camp site, the couple were finally having a moment alone; Jason was in their tent blazing his way through a comic while listening to his walk-man, and the Dream Team had just left with Rosie on a night hike. With the heat of the night making it nearly impossible to sit next to the fire, it had been doused immediately after dinner and the only source of light was now emitting from a shitty wind-up flashlight. The soothing tones of Charlotte's Ella Fitzgerald cassette filtered through the air and the pair savored the moment as best they could, knowing it'd be near impossible to achieve something as peaceful as this again. Trina was close to drifting off, not from boredom but from the sheer relaxation of it all. Sitting back with her eyes closed and gently running her fingers along her husband's arm as he talked, she listened to his deep, calming voice relaying the day he spent with his stepson and ex-patient.

“I can't believe we just sat there for hours. Not even the tiniest hint of a catch.” He chuckled, absentmindedly twisting and untwisting the cap of his beer in between sips.

“Has Jason ever mentioned a Heather Levin to you?”

Mendel pauses, considering his options before deciding to just go with the truth, “He has... and the only reason I didn't tell you is because he made me promise! He said he didn't want you to be “all weird” about it.”

With a scoff, Trina crosses arms, “I would not be weird about it. Why would I be weird about it?” Mendel reaches across the space between their chairs and takes Trina's hand in his when she starts pinching at the skin of her elbow. “I just wish he would talk to me about these things. It's his first crush!”

“He'll come to you when he's ready. And if it's any help, Marvin doesn't know either.” He reassures with a smile.

It did help… more than it probably should have.

In the dark, quiet of one of the shorter trail paths Charlotte had never felt more content. Walking with her wife, their arms snug around each other (industrial flashlight loosely clutched in her other hand to keep an eye on Rosie), bats occasionally flitting by overhead, the surrounding concinnity of night-time insects with the periodic hoot of an owl and the hushed conversation of her two closest friends behind her. She allowed herself to let go of the stress of her demanding job for a bit and just be present. So much of her daily life blends together into a blur of one patient to another, bad news, good news, home to Cordelia, eat, sleep and then up at 3 the next morning to do it all over again. The wards are getting busier and Charlotte tries to convince herself that it's always this busy during summer, but something feels amiss. She finds calm in the song pattern of the nearby crickets.

Only a short distance behind the two women, Marvin was keeping a tight hold of his boyfriend's hand to stop him from wandering off the path and towards a clearing that he swears is just a few hundred yards away. “Have you learned nothing from those slasher flicks we make you watch?”

“Come on, Marv! If it was daytime you would be able to see it from here,” Whizzer pleads, “If we can sneak away I'll make it worth your while...”

“As tempting as that is, baby, I'd rather not get mauled to death by coyotes tonight.”

“You said you wouldn't bitch about that!”

“That was before I found out that you had a death wish apparently, you weirdo.”

“We'll see the stars better.”

“We can see them perfectly fine from here. You know for someone who can barely sit through Jaws – because he thinks it's too scary – you don't seem to be scared of things that are _actually_ dangerous.”

“How many times- I don't fucking think Jaws is scary, I just don't like the suspense!”

“There's no need to be ashamed, Whizzer. I think it's cute how much you hate scary movies.” In fact, Whizzer's fear of fictional serial killers, ghosts, demons and giant sharks is one of the main reasons Marvin puts himself through Charlotte and Cordelia's horror nights.

“Shut the fuck up, Marv.” Whizzer replies with a soft smile, before fondly threatening to knock him out and leave him there for the wild animals.

It was just past midnight by the time the four lovers had settled themselves back around the unlit camp fire. Trina and Mendel had retired to their tent once they returned, their absence being the only thing keeping them awake, with Rosie following right behind them. Jason had elected to stay up with the others a little while longer, listening to Cordelia describe the frog they had encountered on their walk with immense interest. When it was eventually time to call it a night, the temperature had dropped a fair few degrees with a light, cool breeze rustling through the surrounding trees. A more restful sleep than last night was looking more plausible, despite the rocky start with Cordelia nearly throwing a fit at finding some weird looking beetle near the top of her sleeping bag. She nearly had the whole tent turned inside out making sure there were no more secret bugs crawling around.

Almost immediately after their heads hit their pillows everyone was out like a light, absolutely exhausted from the early start that morning and all their energy spent out in the sun. The campers hadn't quite resigned themselves to the fact that Sunday would bring them back to the real world. At least they'd have a few more hours to pretend like nothing else existed beyond the tranquility of their little patch in the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not writing out Marvin, Mendel & Jason fishing I tried but none of it was good ahaha like it was worse than what I've actually decided to include so count yourselves lucky

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it to here then thank you, I hope this wasn't too boring for you! I have no idea when the next chapter will be up but hopefully I get it out faster than this one. I do not want to be writing this fic set during the height of summer in December. If only I had this idea 2 months ago.


End file.
